La2Zr2O7 nanocrystals doped with Er3+ were prepared from curing and pyrolysis of La2Zr2O7 preceramic precursor modified by erbium acetylacetonate for the purpose of photoluminescence applications. The crystallisation behaviour, microstructure and photoluminescence of the generated ceramics were investigated. The nanocrystals derived from the precursor annealed at 900 °C for 2 h exhibit a single-phase solid solution with an average crystallite size of about 20 nm. The emission band centred at 528 nm was attributed to the 2H11/2→4I15/2 transition, while those at 550 and 562 nm were ascribed to the 4S3/2→4I15/2 transition. The optimal molar ratio of Er3+/Zr4+ for max emission intensity was between 0.04 and 0.06.